1. Field of Technology
The present invention relates to a card processing apparatus and system, POS terminal for card processing and a card processing control method for processing card transactions.
2. Description of Related Art
Typically a card, such as a credit card, which contains embossed information identifying the credit card number and card owner and electronic information usually in the form of magnetic data stored in a magnetic stripe is processed by reading the magnetic data, using a magnetic stripe reader (MSR), whereupon the magnetic data is transmitted to a credit card company (verification server) for credit authorization as well as for checking if the credit card has been reported lost or stolen. An example of a credit card processing system is taught in Japanese Unexamined Patent Appl. Pub. H05-250548.
If the magnetic data cannot be automatically read by the MSR for some reason, the operator processing the transaction must manually enter the credit card number to the POS terminal using a keyboard. This number is then used for the credit card authorization check.
When paying by credit card at a store that uses a manual credit card imprinter instead of a credit authorization terminal (CAT), and in stores that have a CAT but the CAT does not recognize the card due to a problem with the magnetic stripe, vouchers are imprinted by the imprinter to acquire the card information. These credit card vouchers produce multiple copies similar to carbon copies of the embossed face of the credit card. The customer signs the voucher, and the customer and store each retain one copy. A signed voucher is also sent to the credit card company, which retains the vouchers in case of illegal credit card use.
This can result in problems such as described below.
(1) Data entry errors occur when keying in the credit card number, and operating a imprinter can be time-consuming particularly when the operator is not accustomed to using an imprinter. The customer is thus kept waiting, and productivity drops. This also makes the operator's job more difficult.
(2) Use of multipart forms and vouchers incurs the expense of storing and managing the forms and copies, as well as the cost of the paper itself.
(3) Card imprinting errors occur easily because the operator is often unaccustomed to using an imprinter. Information embossed on the card may therefore be inadequately copied, and by the time the problem is discovered later, the copy cannot be used as proof of illegal card use (i.e., as a record of a crime).
The present invention provides a card processing apparatus and system, a POS terminal for card processing, and a card processing control method for reliably acquiring card information from the card without lowering productivity.